


light and hope at the end of the tunnel

by unconditional_potter (orphan_account)



Series: Prompts [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hopeful Ending, Light Angst, M/M, POV Draco Malfoy, Pining, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/unconditional_potter
Summary: Based on the prompt - “I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.” - Drarry
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Prompts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574839
Kudos: 89





	light and hope at the end of the tunnel

The two boys lay at the top of the Astronomy Tower, gazing at the sky above them. They lay apart enough for their bodies to not touch, but their hands close enough to hold, if one was brave enough to make the move. The cold winter weather was blocked by the blanket over them and a mattress under them transfigured from their cloaks. Draco traced the stars in the sky, thanking them for giving him the chance to be here in the first place, content and peaceful.

Returning for Eighth Year brought nothing but trouble for Draco, constantly playing victim to the jinxes and hexes of those who thought to bring it upon themselves to take the law into their own hands. Without his Slytherin lackeys, Draco was rarely seen out of his dorm room, apart from classes and meals, which he shared with none other than Harry Potter, courtesy of Professor McGongall. At the beginning of the year, McGonagall thought it best to integrate ‘inter-house unity’ to a whole nother level in their returning class, to attempt to act as role models for the rest of the school population. And of course, Potter was not one to deny her of such wishes.

Sharing a dorm with Potter (who soon became Harry) began quite awkwardly for the two of them, but it soon died down when they found what they had much in common if they weren’t fighting. They shared their love for quidditch, hatred for divination, and their similar roles in the war by being played by the older men in their lives.

Their rocky start settled after a few nightmares, one being woken by the other and comforting them, and turned into deep and meaningful conversations between the two of them after curfew.

The pair eventually grew much closer over the weeks, and reached a point where one is rarely seen without the other. They were no longer ‘Harry’ and ‘Draco’, but ‘Harry and Draco’. They were both very grateful for their new friendship, as they were finally able to overcome the obstacles that previously blocked their paths.

For Draco, however, this new friendship did come with its downsides. With their newly found friendship brought extended feelings Draco could’ve only hoped to erase. But it was a hopeless case, as Draco found, as suppressing his feelings only increased them in the end.

Now, on Christmas Eve, here was Draco, lying next to Harry. Not Harry Potter, or the Boy-Who-Lived. Just Harry, the one who stole his heart and never even knew it. 

He glanced at Harry from the corner of his eyes, basking in the details of his features. The dark colour of his hair that resembled the night sky. The opposing brightness in his green eyes that Draco felt he could fall into every time they pinned their gaze onto him. His small and rounded nose, thick and plumped lips, the slight stubble on his chin. Draco poured his attention onto Harry’s face, drinking in every last freckle and scar.

As his eyes drifted, Draco’s thoughts shifted back to one of his regular topics, debating whether it would be worth while telling Harry about his true feelings. He thought of the pros and cons, and from where he was currently standing, he could find a lot more cons than pros. The plus side; Harry would be happy, confess his feelings (that is if he had any) and their relationship could possibly bloom from there. On the other side, if it were unrequited, it could wreck their relationship, Harry could shun him, humiliate him, pity him, the possibilities were endless.

There had been multiple chances, like this (alone and peaceful), for Draco to drop his bombshell, but he had trouble ‘embracing his gryffindor’ as Harry would call it. ‘You need to find your inner bravery and gryffindor-ness and pour it out for the world,’ he would say. If only it were that easy, Draco thought. 

The truth was Draco was scared. (more like utterly terrified, but…). He had trouble deciding his next move, without knowing what could unfold from the situation. The one time Draco had come closest to outing himself to Harry, they were in Hogsmeade, the two of them, at a cafe for lunch. He had come close to blurting it out for the world to hear, but was promptly interrupted by their food coming right on time.

He didn’t know whether the interruption was a blessing in disguise or not, because in that moment, his mind was spinning a million miles an hour, and he didn’t know if he could form a proper sentence, or just blurt out ‘I’m in love with you and I’m terrified’ for the world to hear.

He was brought back into the moment by a loud yawn emitted next to him, and saw that Harry was barely keeping his eyes open. With Harry’s eyes barely open, he allowed himself a rather sappy and fond smile to take place on his face, only just resisting the urge to swipe a piece of hair from Harry’s face out of his eyes.

His smile slightly faded and his heart lurched at the thought of whether there would be a possibility in the future, where Draco didn’t always have to hesitate with every touch, or second guess every word that would come out of his mouth.

For the moment, Draco let himself feel content with what he had around him. A strong and powerful friendship, even if that wasn’t all he wanted from this. He knew that there would be a day where it - where this friendship wouldn’t be enough for him, and he prayed to the Gods above (if there even were any) that he would hopefully have figured out how to utilise his ‘gryffindor strength’ by then, and would be able to say what has been on his chest for the last few months.

But for now, he let his eyes drift close, and dreamt of black, shaggy hair, bright, green eyes, and dozens of children running free around him.


End file.
